Never Enough
by PinkKangaroo
Summary: Tonks is assigned as Harry's bodyguard and must help him find and destroy the remaining horcruxes to fulfill his destiny. But what if he needs more than that? HONKS.
1. Surprises For All

**Chapter 1**

**Surprises For All**

It had been three sleepless nights since Harry had returned to number four Privet Drive for the summer after his sixth year. Dumbledore's death and his duty to destroy the remaining Horcruxes lingered in his mind day and night, plaguing his thoughts constantly. The solitude wasn't much help either, and within the second day he'd already written letters to both Hermione and Ron. He'd written several letters to Ginny as well, each of which he hastily crumpled up and tossed aside. He couldn't find the right words to say to her, and he doubted there were any. It seemed impossible to remain friends after caring for her in the way he did, especially since they'd never been very close before their relationship anyway. With a sigh of resignation, he ripped up yet another letter to her and tossed aside its remains. Grumbling beneath his breath, he stood up and pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it onto his messy floor. Within three days he'd already managed to make a mess of his room, which was mainly scattered with dirty clothes, empty food wrappers, and wads of undesired letters. The state of his room was definitely reflecting the way he was currently feeling, he thought with a chuckle. Turning to his bed, he pulled back the covers and began to climb beneath them when the turning of his doorknob behind him caused him to jump. Scrambling for his wand amidst the mess of his room, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw who it was.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything, Harry," Tonks waggled her eyebrows playfully as she saw the shirtless boy.

Harry's pale cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. Scrounging his floor for a shirt, any shirt, he grabbed one and quickly pulled it on over his head. He then turned sheepishly back to Tonks and searched for some way to change the topic. Luckily that wasn't too difficult considering her intrusion. "And what exactly are you doing here, Tonks?" He asked, wading his way through the mess and taking a seat on his bed.

"Good to see you too." She mumbled in response, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. "I'm here for my new assignment." Carefully making her way through the mess, she attempted to get to his bed, though she stumbled several times in the process.

"New assignment?" He asked hesitantly, not sure whether he wanted to know what it was. His lack of privacy had become more and more of a strain recently. The constant watch over him always left him wondering whether he was really alone or not. At least Tonks had the decency to show her face to him unlike many of the other members of the Order sent to guard over him.

"Yes, well... now don't get angry at me for this, ok? I'm not any happier about this than you..." Harry winced, bracing himself for whatever Tonks was about to say next. "I've been assigned as a sort of... bodyguard to you. So I-"

"_You?" _Harry interrupted, bewildered. "You are my bodyguard? I can't believe this."

Tonks glared at him heatedly, so intensely he could have sworn her hair turned a more fiery shade of red. "What exactly do you mean by that?" She demanded, balling her fists as she took another step toward him. "I'm no more thrilled about this than you, and I happen to be a very accomplished Auror, thank you very much."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"And if I weren't assigned to protect you, I'd hex you into next week."

At this comment, Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose I lucked out then, didn't I?" He paused after he spoke, wondering if he'd regret saying the words that had just left his mouth. To his relief, Tonks seemed to calm down and relaxed as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"You did." Tonks grinned, her voice much softer than a moment ago. Harry couldn't help but smile in response. He had to admit he did enjoy Tonks' company. Though he'd never really talked to her for an extended period of time, he'd always found her clumsiness entertaining and she seemed to be a good person at heart. But to have her around all the time? They couldn't have even had his guard be a male? It seemed as if that would feel much less invasive. He would no longer be able to sleep with his shirt off without being thoroughly embarrassed by Tonks. He'd have to change a lot of things with her around all the time.

"Well, I'm tired now. Can I go to sleep?" He asked, making an attempt to tidy his unruly black hair.

"Of course. I'll be here, in this pathetic excuse for a room." She gestured toward the messy floor. For the second time in the past minute, Harry blushed a violent shade of red.

"I'll clean it in the morning." He managed, climbing underneath his covers and pulling them over his body.

"It's fine." She replied, her dark eyes twinkling in the light his lamp provided. "By the way, we're going to the Burrow tomorrow. There's only one week left until Bill and Fleur's wedding."

Harry's eyes were already shut, though he managed to nod in affirmation into his pillow. Laughing softly, Tonks waved her wand and put out the lights as she took a seat on Harry's chair placed opposite his bed in the room.

- - - - -

Sunlight streamed through the window the next morning, its rays lighting the sleeping figure of Harry Potter. Twitching, he rolled over onto his side, eyes begrudgingly opening themselves. At the sight of a wide-awake Tonks perched upon his chair, gazing intently at him, he quickly rolled over to face the wall. The already familiar chuckle filled the air as he heard Tonks get up from the chair and walk toward him. A moment later, he could feel the weight of her body on the bed beside him.

"Harry, you're going to get used to seeing a lot of me for the next few weeks at least."

Oh lord. He wasn't sure if he could handle it. She was a female, as he'd noticed in a recent revelation of his, and dealing with females he didn't know well had never been his strong point. He could speak to Voldemort with confidence while others flinched at the utterance of his name. And yet, when he was shirtless in the presence of a woman, he wanted to nothing more than hide in a corner.

"Now get up, sleepyhead. We're leaving soon." He could feel the bed lighten with the relief of her weight and he finally dared to roll back over. There she was, standing there watching him from his chair yet again. His cheeks seemed to have changed permanently to pinkish hue as he struggled to pull his tired body from his bed. Emerald eyes gazed down at the floor in astonishment as he saw that everything had been neatly put away or thrown away.

"Where are all my things? Where's my trunk?" He asked as he stood up and made his way to a small, neat pile of clothes at the end of his bed.

"Already been sent to the Burrow." Tonks grinned, obviously proud of herself for being so well-prepared. "But I left you some clothes there to change into now."

"Wi-With... you here?" The words seemed to catch in his throat as he watched Tonks nervously.

"Might as well get used to it now." She laughed as his mouth dropped open. "I'm just kidding. But I'd rather just turn around than possibly run into your god awful roommates." She was obviously referring to the Dursleys, and Harry could understand the point she was making.

"Ok. Turn around." He said, picking up the clothes from the bed. As soon as Tonks had turned, he shed his pants and underwear and pulled the fresh ones on. Tossing the dirty ones on the floor, he removed his shirt next. Once he'd put on the clean one, he gave her the okay.

"That was easy enough. Ready to go?" Tonks spun around and hopped up off the chair, unusually perky.

"Why are you so anxious to get going?"

"No reason." She replied quickly. It was her turn to blush this time. "Okay, so we are going to apparate but we have to go outside since there are charms that have been put on the house."

Nodding, Harry eyed her once more before following her out the door and down the stairs toward the front door. He received a menacing glare from the entire Dursley family on his way out as they sat silently at the table eating breakfast. "Do they know where I'm going?" He whispered to Tonks as she opened the front door.

She bobbed her head up and down in response. "Yes of course. I explained everything to them last night. Alright now, take my arm. You've done this before, haven't you?"

Harry nodded, biting his lip as his mind flickered back to Dumbledore. He had no idea how he would make it through this ordeal without his guidance. Reaching out, he gripped Tonks' wrist tightly, his breath catching in his throat as his brilliant emerald eyes connected with hers. Her smile faded for merely a second before returning in all its glory. "Ready?" He nodded. A moment later he felt his body being squeezed in from all angles, yet the feeling was much more tolerable than the previous time he'd apparated. And then suddenly, he was somewhere else.

"Harry! You're here!" Before he even realized where he was, he was enveloped in a tight hug by a familiar bushy haired brunette.

"Hey Hermione." He said, his voice showing his true happiness at being in her presence once again. He was reminded yet again of how relieved he was that Hermione and Ron were there to help him through this whole thing. Apparently Tonks was to assist him as well.

"Blimey, Hermione, you've only just seen him last week," Ron grumbled as Hermione still held Harry tightly in her grasp.

"Well excuse me for being happy to see him!" Hermione retorted as she pulled away from Harry and crossed her arms at Ron.

"I'm happy to see him too, but you don't see me crawling all over him."

"Crawling all over him? Oh, you _must_ be kidding me! Excuse me for showing affection towards my friends. It's more than I can say for you!"

Laughing silently at his friends, Harry rolled his eyes and exchanged a glance with Tonks and walked inside with her. "Your things are upstairs in Percy's room." Tonks said, running a hand through her bright pink hair. Nodding, Harry gave a hasty wave to Tonks before climbing the stairs two at a time toward the room that had once belonged to Percy Weasley.

- - - - -

"So have you thought about where you're going to start?" Hermione questioned excitedly as she sat criss cross on the bed beside Harry. "I mean, do you have any ideas?"

"Well... I-I'm not quite sure," Harry stumbled through his response. Obviously he'd thought about where he was going to start with this; he knew Hermione wasn't thick-headed. But he didn't have any concrete ideas yet, and the plan he'd settled with was to explore a few places relating to Voldemort's past. Hopefully he'd get some new ideas from them, or discover a few clues. If not, he had no idea where to start.

"Oh," Hermione's disappointment was blatantly painted on her face. "Well, that's alright then. Ron and I are ready to help with whatever you need. Right Ron?" There was an incoherent mumble of what he assumed was agreement coming from the redhead as he lay on Ginny's bed across the room.

"About that..." Harry was hesitant in how he was going to break the news. For the past few days he'd been playing over in his mind how this whole search would be done, over and over. Some times Hermione and Ron had been a part of his plan, while during others they hadn't. He'd found though, that the situations in which they'd come along with him, had only seemed more complicated. Thus he'd decided in the end that this was a journey he'd need to take alone. Perhaps later along the way he'd use the help they had so graciously offered, but for now it was important he did this by himself.

"-You don't want us to come," Hermione interceded in a knowing voice, "I knew this would happen."

"Do you understand why, Hermione? I just need to do this alone... at least for now."

"Not really, Harry. I don't think I'll ever completely understand it, but if it's something you need to do, then go ahead. If you do need our help though, we're right here."

The redhead's hair shook as he bobbed his head up and down in agreement. "Do what you've gotta do." He stated simply. Apparently Ron wasn't in much of a talking mood at the moment, to which Harry had little objection.

"I'm off to bed now," Harry yawned, getting up from the bed and heading toward the door. "Night."

Descending the stairs from the floor of Ginny's room to the second where Percy's was located, he moved toward the door of his room and twisted the doorknob. Pushing the door open, he staggered into it and toward his surprise. No less than three feet away from it, he realized suddenly that someone was in it.

"TONKS!" he growled, taking the last few steps toward her and shoving her still body.

"Mghhsf." she groaned.

"Get out of my bed!" He pushed her body with more force now.

"WHAT?" she yelled suddenly, sitting upright and jerking her head around to find whomever had shaken her awake. "Harry!" She took him by surprise by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Agh, the first decent sleep I've gotten in a week and you had to wake me."

"Well excuse me, but this happens to be my bed." Harry retorted. "I thought you were supposed to be watching me anyway?"

"Oh shove it," She grumbled irritably, throwing the covers off her body and standing up. Immediately Harry's jaw dropped, his eyes moving down the length of her body. "All I wanted was a bit of decent sleep."

"Um...Tonks..." Harry's cheeks felt as if they were on fire, unable to take his eyes off Tonks' lower half. "You might... erm... you might want to put some pants on?" You see, Harry wasn't exactly accustomed to see woman in merely a t-shirt and underwear. Though the shirt was oversized for Tonk's petite body and normally would have hung as low as her mid-thigh, the side nearest Harry had somehow managed to tuck itself into the top of her underwear. Harry found himself graced with a view of Tonk's underwear as well as the entire length of her leg.

"Oh..." Tonks' dark eyes shifted downward as she hastily pulled out the t-shirt from her underwear, allowing it to fall to its usual position. Resting her hands on her hips, she looked back up at Harry and clicked her tongue. "Stop ogling Harry, they're just legs. Now get into bed like you wanted."

Harry opened his mouth three consecutive times before he was able to release words from them. "Right then. You can... well, if you need sleep... go, ahead."

"How kind of you to offer." She replied, but rather than climbing back into bed, she moved toward the other side of the room. Sighing, Harry tried to forget the sight he'd just been shown, and got into bed. Once he was safely under the covers and away from Tonks' prying eyes, he carefully pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it to the ground. He then rolled over onto his side so that he was facing the wall, and shut his eyes in an effort to fall asleep. What he didn't count on, was the sudden adjustment of the bed as a great amount of weight was pushed down onto it. Tonks.

Rolling back over, Harry opened his eyes to find Tonks sliding beneath the covers beside him. "Wha-what are you doing?" He asked timidly, flinching as he felt her leg brush against his. The bed was much too small to fit both of them, and he knew there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep with the discomforting feeling of her body so close to his.

"What do you think? I'm trying to get some sleep. You offered after all."

"Yes...well... I didn't think you would with..."

"With you? Well, I'm full of surprises then, aren't I?" There was a playful glint in her dark eyes that made his heart flutter within his chest. He never would have guessed, a grown woman – his bodyguard, no less – toying with him. He'd dreamed of similar situations before, though never with this particular woman, yet now that it was actually happening to him, he felt uneasy. His hands were practically sweating, and he was sure that the thumping within his chest was anything but normal. "Calm down," she soothed, obviously noticing his discomfort. "I put shorts on, so it's alright. Now go to sleep."

Gulping, Harry took a deep breath and turned over on his side once again. Doing his best to forget that Tonks was there, he shut his tightly and prayed that sleep would come. He jumped as he felt her hand brush against his bare back, sending a chill up his spine. "Sorry," she murmured quietly. Settling down once more, he did his best to relax, though it took several minutes more for sleep to actually come.

- - - - -

"Harry, dear! I've made breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley knocked twice on the door. "Harry?" She tapped her foot impatiently, awaiting some sort of response. Letting her food go cold was not an option, though. Gripping the doorknob, she turned it quietly, opening the door just enough that she could poke her head inside. What she saw caused her to furrow her eyes in confusion. "Tonks?" Pulling the door open wider, she stepped into the room toward the bed where lay the sleeping figure of Tonks.

Harry and Tonks both jerked upright suddenly at the sudden, harsh burst of light that the open door allowed into the room. When Harry saw Mrs. Weasley in the room and then Tonks beside him in bed, his first reaction was to lift the covers to hide his bare torso.

"Oh my... what have you..." Mrs. Weasley bent over and picked up Harry's shirt with two fingers, as if afraid to fully touch it. She then looked at Tonks, whose eyes were wide with astonishment. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, NYMPHADORA! HE'S JUST A BOY!"

Tonks quickly clambered out of bed as Mrs. Weasley swung the shirt at her. "Molly, nothing... nothing happened." She yelped as she was whipped in the side of her thigh by the t-shirt. Hopping out of Mrs. Weasley's reach, she did her best to evade the woman's vicious swipes at her.

"You were assigned to guard him, for heaven's sake! And then you... oh Merlin, I don't even want to say it."

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Tonks screamed, tripping over the leg of the bed and toppling over onto the floor.

Mrs. Weasley finally ceased her hitting, catching her breath as she tried to let everything sink in. Harry watched in shock, trying to process what was going on as well. "Nothing happened, Mrs. Weasley," he finally breathed. The woman's head snapped toward him, the stony glare she'd held a moment ago had softened. "She just... she was just tired and there was only one bed. It was..."

"I'm sorry Molly. I was just... exhausted, but I knew I was supposed to keep an eye on him." Tonks whimpered, rubbing the red welt that was forming on her thigh.

Mrs. Weasley stood still for a moment, her gaze flickering between Harry and Tonks. Finally, she dropped the shirt on the floor and turned toward the door. "Breakfast is downstairs." The door slammed shut behind her, leaving the room's two remaining occupants sitting still in disbelief.

The silence was broken by a soft chuckle from Harry, immediately stifled by a glare from Tonks. "Don't expect that to ever happen again." She snapped, still frozen to the sitting position she'd taken on the floor.

Managing to pull himself out of the bed, Harry held in another laugh, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it on over his head. He moved toward the door, grasping its handle and pulling it open. Before leaving, however, he turned back to Tonks and grinned. "Thanks for last night." With a wink, he chuckled and left the room, leaving a humiliated, red-faced Tonks in his wake.


	2. A Change in Plans

**Chapter 2**

**A Change in Plans**

An awkward silence hung over the breakfast table as Harry and Tonks uncomfortably ate their food amongst the Weasleys and Hermione. Harry had the uneasy feeling that eyes were on him as he stuffed another forkful of pancakes into his mouth. He couldn't help but be thankful that Fred and George were still staying in the small apartment at their shop, knowing that if they'd been at the table he would have never heard the end of this misunderstanding. Because that's all it was, a misunderstanding. So now that everyone had grasped that concept, why was everything still so tense?

Mrs. Weasley suddenly cleared her throat and all heads turned toward her immediately. "I think I forgot to mention that Remus is coming by later today," she stated simply before standing up and clearing her plate with a flick of her wand.

Tonks seemed to tense up a bit at Mrs. Weasley's words. Everyone had discovered Tonks' feelings for Lupin the year before after she'd been pining over him for who knows how long, but Harry wasn't sure whether anything had come of it yet. All he knew was, she sure had seem much perkier these past few days than she had last year. So something must have changed.

He heard a chuckle from Ron's end of the table as he watched Tonks' reaction. Standing up, he cleaned up his plate and left the room. Less than a minute later, Hermione hastily got up and joined him, leaving Ginny, Tonks, and Harry remaining at the table.

"How are you, Harry?" Ginny asked, choosing to ignore Tonks for the moment.

"I'm alright. And you?" He sighed softly as he looked back at her. Though he'd been the one who initiated the break-up, it was hard to be around her. After all, the reason for their separation had nothing to do with a lack of feelings for her. In fact, it had been the opposite. He'd cared so much for her that he couldn't risk staying with her. And seeing her again now... it made it hard for him to stick to that decision.

"Good," she replied confidently. Ginny was never one to act weak or helpless. Even if she was feeling unhappy, she would never be one to show it.

"Tonks." Harry turned to the silent woman seated to his right as she devoured her food with excitement. Apparently something _had_ happened with her and Lupin. "Would you help me work on some spells?" He still hadn't completely mastered non-speaking spells, and now that he no longer had Dumbledore to guide him through his search for the Horcruxes, he knew he'd need to be as strong as possible. Tonks was an auror. She could help him, couldn't she?

"Hm?" She looked up from her food that she had been so focused on consuming a moment ago. "Oh, yeah. Sure, Harry."

He could have sworn he caught a scowl from Ginny out of the corner of his eye, causing a slight tingling feeling to form within his chest. Turning toward her, he smiled weakly. He would have to spend as little time with Ginny as possible, or he knew he'd end up doing something he'd regret. "See you, Ginny." Taking his plate from the table, he washed it before heading outside to wait for Tonks.

- - - - -

The sun shone brightly overhead, its rays beating down on the two figures as they circled each other slowly. Harry's darkly colored hair seemed to be attracting a great deal of heat, as beads of perspiration had already begun to form on his forehead. They were soon wiped away by his sweaty palm before it returned its tight grip on his wand. He'd barely been able to evade Tonks' last stunning spell, and his inability to conjure any sort of spell without speaking was beginning to frustrate him. Grinding his teeth together, he tightened his grip on his wand – if that was even possible – and thought the spell over in his head again. "_Stupefy"_ he thought forcefully, yet no spell came from his wand. How was he going to be able to kill the most powerful wizard in the world if he couldn't even manage one simple, non-speaking spell?

Tonks, on the other hand, appeared across from Harry to be completely calm. Not a drop of sweat could be found glistening on her forehead, and she stood with a loose and ready stance as she waited for his attack. A small smirk spread onto her face as no spells came. "Something wrong, Harry?" she teased, flicking her wand lightly as she sent another stunner his way. Once again, Harry barely managed to evade it.

If there was one thing that got on Harry's nerves though, it was being teased and ridiculed. Playful as Tonks' demeanor may have been, he felt a sudden tinge of anger at her words and wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face. "Well I am a little tired. I didn't really get much sleep last night," he said with a soft chuckle. As he had hoped, the smirk faded from her face and her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. She seemed to be having difficulty determining whether he'd been making a joke, or whether he really hadn't gotten much sleep. _"Stupefy."_ Harry thought once again with determination. This time a bolt of red light exploded from his wand, hurtling itself toward Tonks. To his dismay, she managed to avoid it narrowly, yet had obviously been hindered by the distraction his comment had caused her.

Now though, the smirk returned to her face, "Good. You're not quite as bad as I thought." Harry grumbled at the insult and took a few steps toward her. He suddenly became incredibly determined to win this duel, no matter what it took. The faint hint of anger within him had brewed into a stronger rage, as the fury and hatred towards Snape and Malfoy for Dumbledore's death had now simmered to the surface.

"_Expelliarmus"_ To his amazement and content, Tonks' wand flew from her hand and rolled to a stop several feet away from both of them. His eyes made contact with hers before they both lunged at the wand, which Harry later realized was a stupid move when he should have just summoned the wand with his own. But it was too late for that now, and Tonks had just dove toward the wand, to which Harry's reaction was to pounce on top of her. He desperately reached toward her arm with his free hand, and pinned it to the ground just inches away from where her wand was resting.

Tonks managed to twist her head toward Harry as she wriggled beneath his weight. "Interesting tactics you're using there," she mumbled, trying to break her arm free from his grasp, but to no avail. Her comment seemed to quiet Harry's anger slightly, and he found his focus shifting now to Tonks' face, his thoughts no longer pertaining to the duel at all. Their close proximity and his newly discovered attraction for her made the situation much more difficult to handle, and the sweat on his brow was now due to nerves rather than frustration.

"Ok Harry, now this is beginning to get uncomfortable. I don't think I can feel my leg." Tonks groaned, doing her best to shift beneath his weight, but ended up lying with her back to the ground beneath him. Once Harry's gaze found hers, he wanted nothing more than to continue gazing into her dark, twinkling eyes, but of course, he was rudely interrupted by...

"Lupin!" Hearing footsteps, Harry had ungratefully torn his eyes away from Tonks, only to find her love interest standing a few feet away from them with his arms crossed and a puzzled look on his face. Quickly rolling off of Tonks, Harry abruptly got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Remus?" Tonks gasped, sitting up once she was free of Harry's weight and turning to look at Lupin. "I... we were just... well... that must not have looked right. Why do I keep getting myself into these awkward positions?" She gave an exasperated sigh, then froze suddenly as she realized what she had just said. "I mean, I'm not always in these sort of positions." She was blushing madly by now, while Lupin merely laughed at her rambling.

"Interesting way of dueling." And that was all he said before outstretching a hand to help Tonks up. The two seemed to have forgotten that Harry was there, because they had soon wrapped themselves into a rather passionate kiss. Harry felt his stomach clench, and the grip on his wand tightened as he thought of how satisfying it would be right then to turn Lupin into a toad. Then again, that probably wouldn't be the best way to win Tonks over. Oh, what was he talking about? This crush was nothing but a small attraction he held for her; it wasn't serious enough to start thinking about an actual relationship. Even so, he wasn't too keen on watching his crush being snogged silly. Mumbling something about how they needed to get a room, he stalked silently back toward the house, hopeful that Ron or Hermione would be up to less intimate activities.

Harry was relieved to find Hermione curled up in front of the fireplace with a thick, leather bound book titled _An In-Depth Guide on Defending Against the Dark Arts_ – a suiting choice considering the immense danger that currently plagued both the wizarding and muggle worlds. Though Harry had never shared Hermione's passion for books and the knowledge they contained, he had to admit that she always managed to draw out relevant information from them, no matter what was going on at the time.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked, restraining himself from asking about Ginny's whereabouts.

"Well," she huffed as she stuffed a bookmark into the book and slammed it shut, "After he ranted on about how I read so much that it's unhealthy – which is absolutely untrue – he went up to his room claiming he had _better_ things to do than join me. Why can't he realize that these spells are key to our survival with.. you-know-whos return? I'm not always going to be here to whisper the answers to him like I do in school." Crossing her arms, she furrowed her brows in irritation before she picked up her book and returned to her reading.

As much as Harry knew that Hermione was right, he wasn't going to lecture Ron on the matter when he knew he himself was no better. With a slight shrug of his shoulder, he backed out of the room in silence and swiftly ascended the stairs to Ron's room. Thankfully his awkward encounter with Hermione had wiped the thoughts of Tonks and Lupin's snog session from his mind, and as he approached Ron's room all he thought of was how he was really in the mood for a game of chess.

- - - - -

The rest of the day consisted of several games of chess with Ron – in which he lost horribly – as well as lecturing from Hermione about common mistakes made by people trying to protect themselves from Death Eaters. Ginny joined them later on, challenging Ron to a game of chess that was quite exciting to watch and surprisingly ended in Ron's loss. Of course, he immediately demanded a rematch, which nearly lasted them until dinnertime. To Ron's relief he won, a thankful reminder that there was _something_ he was good at.

"Kids!" came a shrill voice from the floor below them, "Dinner is ready!"

Ron hastily put his chess set away, not wanting to face the wrath of his mother should they let the food get cold. Harry got up from the spot he'd been sitting on against the wall and joined Hermione and Ginny as they descended the stairs to the kitchen, followed by Ron.

When they arrived at the table, Mrs. Weasley was seated at one end of the cramped table while Lupin and Tonks sat next to each other at the other. Harry held back a scowl as he took the empty seat besides Tonks. Ginny sat on his other side while Ron and Hermione took their places across from him.

Within a minute, everyone was settled and serving themselves food. As Harry dumped a heap of mashed potatoes onto his plate, he couldn't help but steal a glance toward Lupin and Tonks as they exchanged a secretive whisper with each other. A rather intimate one, he observed reluctantly. He sighed inwardly as he realized that these feelings he had for Tonks – whatever they were – needed to be put aside not only because it was unrealistic, but also because he had much more important things to focus on. Horcruxes. And although he would be stuck with Tonks for the next week, he wasn't going to take her with him when he searched for them, would he? So his feelings for her would lead him to nothing but misery and failure. With that thought in mind, he watched her solumnly for a moment longer before returning his attention to his dinner plate. His potatoes had suddenly become much less appealing.

"Ah, Nymphadora, I've set up another bed if Harry's room if you want to keep a watch over him again tonight," Mrs. Weasley said after swallowing a mouthful of green beans.

Tonks winced at the sounding of her name but managed a nod. "Thanks Molly, that should work fine." Harry caught the gaze her and Lupin exchanged following her words, but he tried not to think any further of it. Though it was technically Tonks' duty to sleep in the same room as Harry in order to watch over him, it was apparent that her preference was in Lupin's room. Though Harry had convinced himself it was necessary to get over his attraction for Tonks, he wasn't ready to think about her sleeping with Lupin. In fact, crush or no crush, he didn't think he'd ever want to think about that. Especially not while he was at the dinner table.

"Would you mind if I went up to my room now?" he questioned, suddenly having lost his appetite.

Mrs. Weasley's brow furrowed in concern as she looked at his half-eaten plate. "Of course dear. Are you feeling alright?"

He nodded as he stood up. "Yeah I just... I'm not too hungry and I'm... I'm pretty tired." Avoiding the curious gazes he was getting from the group, he turned and hurried up the stairs to his room.

Brainstorming time. The absolute importance of finding and destroying the remaining horcruxes filled him with nerves, fear, and anger. Why was the burden placed on him? Because he'd survived Voldemort's killing curse as a baby without so much as a choice, he now was left to deal with destroying the many pieces of him? "I'm tired of bearing the responsibility..." he grumbled, kicking one of Hermione's books off of the bed in frustration. But that was beside the point. It was pointless complaining about the burden he carried when it had already been given to him. What he needed to figure out was how to deal with it.

_Visit Godric's Hollow_

He scribbled onto his parchment under the first bullet. Though he was unsure of what he expected to find there, he figured it was a start. Dumbledore had pieced together the various parts of Voldemort's life in order to find the Horcruxes so he'd follow suit. After all, Voldemort had killed his parents and given him his scar in Godric's Hollow, which would definitely be considered a key event in Voldemort's life. Every part of his life had to be examined. But where else could he look that Dumbledore hadn't already?

_Who has he killed..._

Doodling the words on the parchment, he thought the question over in his head. If he investigated the murders Voldemort had committed, it could lead him to the Horcruxes he made through them. Just as he had begun to list the names he knew of, he heard the doorknob turn.

"Wotcher Harry." Tonks smiled cheekily as she entered the room and made her way toward the second bed that Mrs. Weasley had put into the room. As she flopped onto the bed, she paused and frowned as she noticed Harry stuffing the quill and parchment under his bed.

"Hey Tonks," he mumbled, mustering a small smile as he tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Oh, don't give me that cheesy fake smile. What are you hiding?" She obviously knew him better than to wait for whatever lie he was going to come up with, and instead sped over to him and grabbed the parchment from beneath his bed. Of course she was being invasive, but she _was_ his bodyguard, so it was all in a day's work. Plus there was the fact that she was nosy and enjoyed prying into other people's personal affairs. But ever since Harry stole whatever scrap of a social life she once had, she'd begun to consider his personal matters her own. "What is this, an itinerary?" She chuckled, then stopped abruptly. "Harry... what are you planning?"

Harry rolled his eyes and pondered the question. What was he planning? He hadn't told anyone besides Hermione and Ron about the Horcruxes, just as Dumbledore had advised. But now that he was gone, it was up to Harry to decide who should know about them, wasn't it? He trusted Tonks. How could he not? And although he felt like telling her about the Horcruxes would be a betrayal to Dumbledore, there was another part of him that was positive it was the right thing to do. Sitting there looking at her, it did feel like he should.

"If I tell you this... you have to swear to me you won't tell _anyone_ about this..." He spoke slowly, each word deliberate and spoken forcefully. There was no way he was going to let his words turn into a misunderstanding. "Not even Lupin." He added seriously.

Tonks' cheeks flushed slightly, but she nodded firmly. "Harry, you can trust me."

- - - - -

It had taken over an hour for Harry to tell Tonks the whole story. Despite her shock, disbelief, or rage at certain points in the story, she managed to hold her tongue. He seemed to have gotten his point across: this wasn't to be taken lightly. By the time he finished, she'd managed to come up with several questions for him which he willingly answered. The last one, however, wasn't so simple.

"So you're going to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes... by yourself?" Her voice seemed almost timid, as if she feared that what she'd said was the truth. No, she knew that what she'd said was the truth. It wasn't a question, more of an – are you crazy? She wanted to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't let her as much as he wanted to. He wasn't letting her send an army of Order members with him on the mission or worse, to do it for him. Besides, she promised she wouldn't tell anyone, so she couldn't suggest such an idea.

"Well... yes. I just have to." He pressed his lips together tightly, trying to keep his emotions bottled up inside him. He couldn't let her know how scared he was. She couldn't know how much he feared death. How much he feared _failure_. There were too many people relying on him to count, and it seemed inevitable that he would fail them. On the brightside, at least he wouldn't live to see their disappointment.

"No, you DON'T. Stop trying to carry this whole burden when you don't have to."

"But I do!"

"Then why?"

Harry paused as he searched for an answer. "There... there isn't one answer I can give you. I just know... I just know I have to."

"Well guess what?" she spat, stomping over to her bed and climbing under the covers. "I know better, and I say I'm coming with you." Flicking her wand, the lights went out. As Harry sat there in disbelief, staring at the darkness where he knew Tonks lay, her voice returned. "You need me Harry... trust me. Now goodnight."

And they don't get much bossier than that. Trying to ignore the fact that his heart was pounding, Harry pulled his blanket over his body and stared up at the ceiling. Despite the importance of what Tonks had just declared, he couldn't help but bask in the fact that she'd shown him that she actually cared for him. The way she'd spoken, it didn't seem as if it would matter whether or not he decided he wanted her company. If he survived this ordeal, he was going to write a book. Maybe then people would understand how much easier it is to face Voldemort than to win an argument against the stubborn metamorphagus sleeping across from him.

"If you tell anyone... I'll kill you." He whispered, trying to hold on to an ounce of dignity after losing the battle with her.

He heard a soft giggle come from her bed. "Bring it on."

- - - - -

A/N: I thoroughly apologize for taking so long to update. It's been a busy summer but for those of you who are impatiently awaiting an update to my other story as well.. I promise I'm working on it now! I hope you enjoyed this second chapter, though I have to admit I did hurry through it in an attempt to get something posted.


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